‘Aquaman’ Rides Box Office Waves to $200M Overseas

December 15, 2018

Riding a wave into seven more markets on Friday, Warner Bros/DC’s Aquaman fished out another $27M from overseas turnstiles, lifting the international box office cume to $179.1M. There are 43 offshore hubs now in release, ahead of a further 28 next session which open alongside North America.

The Trident of Neptune is claiming No. 1 in each market on Friday. Play is led by China which had a record bow last frame and, with yesterday’s grosses, hit the RMB 1B mark, or $147.4M. Early estimates out of the Middle Kingdom for Saturday add another $24M (not included in the cumes above) which already propels Aquaman across $200M internationally today.

The China Friday was a terrific 45% drop from the first full day of play last weekend. Aquaman is now WB’s No. 2 biggest grosser in the market which has fallen hook, line and sinker for the Jason Momoa-starrer that went big on promotion locally after getting an early date. As noted yesterday, the origin story has topped all other DC titles in the Middle Kingdom.

Elsewhere on Friday, the top markets were Mexico at $1.6M with a 66% share of the Top 5 films and a running cume of $3M (Ps 60.5M); Russia with a 60% share for $1.4M and $2.7M (Rbl 182M) over two days; and Brazil, a DC-leaning hub, which took $1.4M on Friday. The cume there is a running $3.4M (R$ 13.2M) across two days with 80% of the Top 5 on Friday.

The UK on Day 3 added $1.3M on 1,058 screens with a 52% share of the Top 5 films. The cume is $3M (£2.4M). Momoa appeared on The Graham Norton Show on Friday evening, telling the host that he has yet to see the film after promising his children he’d get his first look at it with them in tow.

India was a new opener on Friday with $956K on 1,850 screens to land a debut that’s more than double Wonder Woman. This was the biggest studio launch day ever for December.

In many markets, DC comps are not apples-to-apples as the previous standalone, Wonder Woman, had a different release pattern. We’ll have a full weekend report on Sunday.

PREVIOUS, FRIDAY: Following its splashy China opening last weekend, Warner Bros/DC’s Aquaman is expanding to another 42 offshore markets this frame. Through Thursday, there are 36 in release which have lifted the international box office cume to $152M. That includes the Middle Kingdom where the James Wan-directed origin story swiftly paddled to $135M (RMB 930M) through yesterday to become the highest-grossing DC Universe title locally in just one week. Jason Momoa’s sea hero has been super strong in the midweeks there and is looking at a second Friday (not included in the cumes above) that’s about a 49% drop, a terrific hold.

The Middle Kingdom, where the movie filled its gills last weekend to a record WB, DC and December opening, has wholly embraced the pic with continued strong engagement. It has little competition this frame in the market and has also topped the lifetime grosses there of Spider-Man: Homecoming, Black Panther, Ant-Man and Ant-Man And The Wasp.

Joining China this session are such hubs as Russia, Brazil, Mexico and the UK. That’s before a further 28 overseas markets are added next weekend when Aquaman also dives into domestic theaters. The Thursday offshore take was $19.7M with No. 1s in the majority of newcomers, and again in China.

Russia bowed to $1.3M (Rbl 87M) on 3,110 screens with a 60% share of the Top 5. The score is on par with Ant-Man And The Wasp, 12% above Justice League and 71% over Wonder Woman.

Brazil opened to an estimated $1.3M (R$ 5M) on 1,715 screens for 80%+ of the Top 5. This is a market that typically leans into DC movies and the debut is 47% ahead of Wonder Woman. However, in local currency, it’s about 59% down on last year’s Justice League which benefited from bowing during a November holiday. Including previews, Aquaman‘s running Brazil cume is now $2M. Mexico surfaced on a non-traditional Thursday with $1.4M (Ps 27.9M), including previews, on 3,517 screens and with a 66% share. That’s also down on JL by 52% in local trading.

Thailand launched with $761K (Baht 25M) on 710 screens, taking 93% of the Top 5. This is WB’s 4th biggest opening day over and the 2nd biggest opening day in the DC universe.